Author's Note: Hope everyone's having a good 2023 so far! And thanks to Ghost for all the help you've given us with this mini arc!

Chapter 174

Past Wounds

Ruby was close behind Hedy, now disliking the situation even more. Why were they looking for her mechanic?

Foxy stayed back to check on Mangle who looked like she wanted to burst into frantic tears. The Toys had all seen the first hand reactions of the parents that day, after all. The deal hadn't interfered with that much…

One of the women's faces brightened as it clicked who Hedy was. She gasped. "Hedwig, it's been such a long time. You look gorgeous, sweetie." The compliment was easy and natural. Ruby didn't trust it.

"Hi Mrs. Manilo," Hedy said softly, mildly bashful at the strong words. "I-I'm s-sorry I didn't write like I promised. I just..."

Mrs. Manilo, Fredrick's mother, shook her head. "Honey, I didn't expect you to keep up with that. I just liked those drawings you would send. It's alright."

"Right. Sorry," Hedy said. She couldn't look Ida in the eye.

Ruby kept back to give them some privacy but she was still ready to intervene. She scanned the faces closely now, studying their expressions.

For the most part, Ruby read wary hopefulness and concern in their faces. She paused on Ida who was more complicated, more angry. She didn't know if that was directed at Hedy or not though.

"What..what are you doing here?" Hedy asked.

"You were in the news," Ida said. "Working here of all places. And you're in a wheelchair. When did that happen?"

"Oh, um, I was twelve," Hedy glanced at the others in rapid succession. "An accident."

Ida turned to the man beside her. "You didn't tell me about this," she accused.

"I told you there was an accident," he said.

"You didn't say it was that bad," Ida said.

"I'm pretty sure I did," the man retorted to his ex-wife. "Hello, Wiggy."

"Hi Mr. Carlogh..." Hedy said, for once not bothered by an adult calling her that. She looked at Ida, "It's fine, Mrs. Carlogh."

Ida's mouth twitched at the name and Hedy winced, but she didn't know what Mrs. Carlogh went by these days.

"I'm oka-."

"You're in a wheelchair, Hedwig," Ida interrupted sternly.

Ruby had to bite back a sarcastic 'no duh' at that.

"I'm okay. I'm used to it. I get around just fine," Hedy insisted, sounding like she was defending herself or sorry for being the way she was, as ridiculous as that was.

Ida shifted a little at Hedy's nervous tone as she looked the young woman over, the tension in her body uncoiling a little as Hedy spoke.

Foxy shifted as he stared at that woman in particular. They all made him tense, but he couldn't forget the taunts Michael had torn Hedy down with once upon a time. The ones about Ginny's mother blaming Hedy in particular.

It had been years, but he saw how Hedy was cautious speaking to them, not wanting to upset them.

"What are you doing here?" Hedy asked again.

Ruby edged closer unconsciously. It wasn't right to see Hedy being this shy, this hesitant. The last time Ruby had seen her like this, she was still terrified that the Originals would kill her.

Chris Jones was glancing between Ruby in confusion and Foxy in interest. He clearly had not expected the fox to carry a conversation as easily as he did, although his parents didn't look bothered.

"We didn't know you were back in town," Mr. Manilo, the man with the glasses, said. "I saw you mentioned in the paper and called around asking if you had spoken to anyone yet."

"You never mentioned moving back," Mr. Carlogh said, not accusingly though. "We just wanted to see how you were doing and decided to come together instead of bothering you multiple times."

Hedy wasn't sure exactly how much to say or how to say it.

"I moved back for the university. Then got a call from Uncle Scott and I wanted...to check on him. Ended up working here in the end." That was half the truth.

"Steve," Ruby immediately corrected under her breath.

Chris looked at her weirdly.

"I haven't heard from Scott in a while either," Mr. Carlogh said thoughtfully. He blinked, missing Hedy's flinch. "Hedwig, this is...the last place I would expect you to decide to work. Why..."

"Are you okay?" Mr. Manilo interrupted.

Hedy looked confused at the concern.

"Yes, I know it's...strange..." Hedy said. "But I'm okay, really. I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything."

Mr. Carlogh looked confused at that defense but Ida was already thinking about her next concern.

Ida crossed her arms. "Hedwig, ignoring…here…for a moment, why on earth did you not let anyone know where you were? You've at least been speaking to Richard haven't you?" She looked at her ex-husband. "Of course, none of us are entitled to knowing how you're doing, but an update every year or so with someone would have been less stressful than silence."

Foxy eyed Ruby warily as she silently fumed. Her tongue was going to be bleeding from all the biting she was doing not to snap. She wanted to give this woman a verbal thrashing though. After what she said, she thought she could just demand updates on Hedy's life? The teen growled, too low for them to hear and Foxy rested a hand on her shoulder.

Hedy flinched. "I d-didn't mean to stress you out. Honestly. I...wasn't aware you cared to know where I was. When I moved back, I-I wanted to give you space." She glanced away guiltily. "Or maybe it didn't cross my mind that you..." She trailed off.

"Hedwig?" the woman Ruby recognized as Fredrick's mom asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to bother you," Hedy apologized.

There was silence for a minute.

"Bother us?" Mrs. Jones asked, suddenly looking distressed as Ida froze.

Ruby was now outright glaring at them from behind Hedy and Chris noticed that the tables nearest them had suddenly evacuated. The regulars all knew what a Ruby about to snap looked like. They didn't want to be in the danger zone.

Toby poked his head into the room, looking at Mangle and Foxy in confusion. It wasn't often that Ruby got angry enough that she sent customers running for cover.

"Sweetie, why on earth would you think you bothered us?" Ms. Jones fretted.

Ida was staring at Hedy when the young woman glanced at her and her eyes widened in guilty horror.

"I just..." Hedy suddenly didn't feel like she could say anymore. "I'm sorry...I...I just need a minute." She backed up. She shot a look at Ruby. "Don't kick them out. I just need a minute."

Ruby's lips pursed in that way that told Hedy she didn't want to do as asked but would because she didn't want to upset her. Then she returned to glowering at the group with fiery hatred. It was enough to make them a bit uneasy even if they didn't know the teenager.

Foxy moved over to Hedy while Mangle quietly freaked out with Toby who couldn't understand anything the fox was saying.

"Mechanic?" he sounded worried.

"I..." Hedy looked freaked. "I don't know what to say to them," she whispered when she was out of earshot and turned away so they couldn't see her face. "I'm not sure what they want from me!"

Meanwhile, the kids' parents watched Hedy distance herself and shared worried looks.

Ida sat down, staring at nothing in horror as she played through pained regretful memories behind her eyes.

Did Hedy ever overhear...?

Ida always assumed Hedwig didn't remember anything if she ever overheard some of the things Ida had said all those years ago, the mother lashing out at what she thought was empty air in pain and grief. Hedy couldn't still be affected, could she?

Richard looked at his ex-wife with a bit of strain.

He always knew Hedy was a smart kid.

He suspected Hedy had come to the assumption that they had moved away to be away from her, which was the sad truth for some of them. They had never said that to her of course. He always got the sense that Ida assumed too much of Hedy's ability to recover or underestimated her intelligence.

"She's not a bother. Why would she think she's a bother?" Mrs. Jones said quickly.

"I wonder why," Ruby snarked, arms folded and looking like she wanted nothing more than to yell at them. Or strangle them. Or both.

"Ya don't owe 'em anything if you don't feel comfortable talking to them, Mechanic," Foxy pointed out gently. "That's what you said to Ruby about her stalker isn't it?"

"It's...not about how I feel about it," Hedy said. "I'm alive, the others aren't. I can't just...ignore how they feel about that. They never tried to hurt me. They just...I overheard things I shouldn't have, okay? I know they didn't mean the things I heard. I'm just being silly and–"

"Hedwig."
Hedy jumped in shock at the name and met his eyes as Foxy lowered his voice and put his hand gently on the top of her head. She could feel his slightly cool metal against her scalp. He spoke slowly and gently. "Doesn't matter if they meant to hurt you or not, Hedy. They still did," Foxy told her firmly.

Hedy looked away and tried to swallow the tears brimming her eyes.

Foxy frowned sadly, not for the first time dearly missing the relationship he and the other Originals used to have with Hedy when she was little. He remembered Bonnie and him singing to her when she was upset, telling her it was okay to cry when she needed to. Poor kid cried a lot, even before everything went truly wrong for her. He couldn't imagine things were any better after she disappeared from their lives. But now it pissed him off that it didn't feel like there was much he could do for her. She wasn't that little girl anymore.

He wanted to give her a hug, but he wasn't sure it would be welcomed.

They weren't that close any more and probably never would be again. It hurt.

Ida stared at Ruby. "I suppose you're Hedy's friend. I wonder how much you know."

Richard sighed.

Ida could be a bit too straightforward sometimes.

"You're the parents of the murdered kids," Ruby replied blandly, her worry over Hedy making her crueller towards strangers than usual. "You're also the people who blamed Hedy for surviving."

The adults stared at Ruby, pained shock behind most of their eyes.

"Blame her? We never blamed her!" Mrs. Manilo said in horror. "Why would she think we..."

"I said some things, years ago," Ida interrupted.

"Admitting it was hard to be around her isn't the same as blaming her," Richard said.

Ida glared at him a little. "Well, apparently she heard us. I don't suppose there was a difference to a child. I wasn't sure she heard me. I...didn't think she would remember if she did."

She glanced over at Hedy. "It never occurred to me to set things straight... I thought she'd forget eventually and I didn't want to admit things like that if she hadn't heard what I said."

The others flinched. They all knew they hadn't been around as much as they should have, though it wasn't technically their responsibility to. She wasn't theirs. Theirs were gone.

But they saw how much Joseph was struggling with his kids. But they were grieving. Was it really their place to be there for her, as cold as that was to ask? It was a complicated mess and there weren't any clear-cut 'good' answers.

"Seeing her in person and so shy? This...wasn't what I was expecting," Mr. Jones said. "Did we do that to her?" He sounded heartbroken.

Mr. Carlogh frowned. "She always seemed fine when we spoke over the phone."

"She's a good liar unless it's face to face," Ruby stated bluntly. "Kids remember a lot more than adults think and it sticks. Unless someone sets them straight. Clearly that didn't happen here."

They couldn't really argue with the hostile teen.

Ida sunk into her seat, listlessly staring at the children running around as they waited for Hedy to compose herself.

What had she done? She wasn't even aware of the damage they, mostly she, had done to Hedy.

Richard was. Richard should have known, but he never said anything to her about it. Where was the man who was so insistent on making Hedy feel loved after everything that happened? Even at the cost of his wife's right to grieve?

Obviously, he failed at that.

Ruby still continued to glare at them all. It was obvious that she was feeling protective of Hedy, even if she was younger.

"Ruby Ruby!" a little boy ran up to her, only about five years old.

The teen's expression changed in a split second as she looked down at the kid. "Hey Danny. What are you doing over here? You usually go running straight for Teddy."

"Come play?" he implored with pleading eyes.

"I'm busy with something now so how about you play with the bots for a bit and then I'll hold a treasure hunt later okay?"

His eyes lit up. "Okay!" he threw his arms around her legs before taking off again. She absently scanned the room for a moment to make sure everything was fine before her attention snapped back to the group.

Several were pretending like they hadn't seen the child and the rest looked pained and wistful as they watched him run off.

Had checking on Hedy really been enough of a reason that they were willing to come there? It obviously was causing pain.

Chris glanced from the kids running around to Ruby with a small frown.

He was Cheryl's older brother, Ruby was pretty sure.

He had never shown up in the videotapes, not even as someone at Cheryl's birthday party. Had he not been there at all? He couldn't be much older than his sister.

She wanted to ask but even she knew that was too insensitive. She glanced back at Hedy and Foxy who were still talking softly.

Mangle was shaking a very confused Toby violently by the shoulders.

It'd be hilarious if Mangle wasn't so obviously stressed.

"They're really the same bots as back then, aren't they?" Chris asked, staring at the two Toys in a little confusion.

Ruby frowned but answered after a moment. "Yes, the Toys and Puppet were put into storage and the Original gang was brought back with this location. Then the others joined later."

"I suppose it's all in their memory banks too..." Chris said. "I kinda wondered if the company would have wiped their drives afterward."

Anger flashed through her eyes before she calmed herself.

"They're too complex to wipe like that," she told him in a forcibly calm voice.

He frowned a little, a little confused about her aggressiveness, but he didn't press. She was obviously defensive due to Hedy's reaction to seeing them.

"Do ya want to move the conversation to a more private room?" Foxy asked Hedy when she seemed a bit more calm again.

Hedy glanced at the only slightly crowded main room. "Yeah..." she admitted.

It would probably be kinder to most of the group as well. Them going through the effort and pain just to speak with her had to count for something.

"Why don't you go and calm Mangle before she shakes Toby's head off? Ruby and I will get them to the extra party room. It's empty today," he suggested.

"Okay..." Hedy said quietly.

Foxy frowned at her. It wasn't like her to easily let any of them boss her around. Even if she did something without argument (because it was a good idea) she either did it with a comment or had to resist rolling her eyes.

He watched her head over to Mangle before walking back to Ruby.

"She wants to have the conversation in a more private room. The extra party room is empty," he told Ruby, his worry making him drop his accent for the most part.

The adults glanced at each other, some more uncomfortable than others.

"We can do that..." Mr. Manilo said.

Ruby gave a sharp nod. "Follow me," she turned and started walking.

Ruby looked like she wasn't going anywhere as the group walked in but Foxy went back to work. His presence wouldn't help.

Hedy started heading to the room after a couple of minutes when she was done calming Mangle down. Then she had to calm Toby down after explaining what happened. Both of the Toys were nervous and jittery after that, but thinking straight enough that she wasn't worried about them shutting down or something.

"Hedy? You ready to go?"
Hedy jumped at Alex's voice.
"When did you get here?" she asked softly, then cleared her throat.
The other young woman jerked a thumb to the front door and leaned on a chair. "Just now. Can we go?" she chuckled. "Trying not to run into your night guard friend. Pretty sure she's still mad at me." Her smile dropped at the look on Hedy's face. "Hey you okay? What happened?"
"I'm fine. Look, Alex, I don't think I can–"
"Fine? Hedy you're crying! At work!"
Hedy touched her face, her fingers bringing away wetness. "Oh sorry." She dried her eyes on her sleeve.

"Who hurt you? I'll kick their ass," Alex said, grabbing her arms. "Unless a little kid hurt your feelings. Actually, fuck it. I'll still punt them across the room if you ask."
Hedy snorted. "No. I just…I don't think I can go out today."
"If you're sure…" Alex muttered. "But maaaaybe you need to get out of this place for some sun and a distraction."

"N-No I just…" Hedy looked up at her friend. She didn't have that many normal friends. Friends that weren't connected to the restaurant or the pain from her past. She had mentioned that she'd seen something horrible when she was little but she always brushed it off. Details were never shared. She wasn't sure she could deal with her friends treating her differently after hearing something like that.

Did she really want to drag Alex into that mess? Not even the current mess with the bots and the building, just the mess of what screwed her up so long ago.

"Hedy? Talk to me? I know I'm no therapist but maybe I can help."
Hedy shut her eyes and shook her head. "No…something came up. C-can we raincheck?"
Alex watched her for a moment. "How much time do you need? I can just wait here. I drove all the way over here to pick you up. Not that I mind the drive, but unless you really don't want to, we're going out today. Something tells me you need it."

"I…I need to talk to some people. It might be a bit…"
Alex shrugged. "I have all day." She slid into a booth and picked up the menu. "Is the pizza here any good?"
Hedy cracked a smile. "No idea. I don't eat the stuff."
Alex grimaced. "That bad?"

After making sure Jerry or Henry would help Alex and give her friend the employee discount she never used, Hedy headed to the party room, although she wanted nothing more than the escape Alex would give her in a heartbeat.

Ruby glanced at her as she came in, before turning her tense glare back on the parents.

It was quiet for a little bit as Hedy tried to gather herself to say something.

"Sorry you felt like you needed to come here," she said eventually as Mrs. Jones sat down.

Ruby leaned against the wall, giving them some space but still staying close.

The adults looked pained at her words.

"Oh honey, no that's not it," Mrs. Jones said, leaning forward. "We really just wanted to check on you."

"We were worried," her husband agreed. "Seeing that you started, well, working here..."

Hedy looked so confused that it broke their hearts. Did she really not understand why they would take the time to care what she was doing?

Granted, it was probably confusing for them to not speak with her in many years, much less meet together, and then all turn up out of the blue like this.

Ida stayed quiet.

Mr. Manilo decided to take another approach. "What do you do here, Hedwig? Your friend mentioned you put The Mangle back in one piece."

"I'm the mechanic."

"Oh that's lovely, sweetie," Mrs. Jones said as Mrs. Manilo agreed. "Just like Joseph! You always loved to tinker. Are you in school still?"

"I...I'm twenty-one," she said.

"Yes I meant university."

Hedy nodded.

"Studying engineering then?" Mr. Manilo asked, trying to gently pry a conversation out of her.

The shy silence from her was painful.

Hedy nodded again. She tilted her head a bit.

Part of her wanted to talk to them. Really. But she just didn't think she had that sort of relationship with them. She didn't deserve their concern, not when they lost their children. She lost her childhood. It wasn't comparable. She swallowed as a reminder struck her.

She didn't deserve to speak with them, especially now. Now she knew it was her fault and their blame was justified.

She brought the kids into that room with Michael. Yes, Michael was the murderer. Yes, she couldn't be blamed for his choice to hurt them. But that didn't change the fact that he had just wanted her.

She brought her friends to their deaths.

It was her fault everything happened.

Everything that happened to the bots. To Jeremy. To Mike. What happened to Uncle Scott. To Ruby. It was her fault…

Her fault…

She stared at the adults. The parents.

She wished she could tell them. Confess. But she couldn't do that. Another part of her wanted to get them out of there as soon as possible.

Luckily she didn't sense any ghosts around. That would be awful.

The Building prodded her, worried, but she barely noticed.

She looked at Ruby, unsure of what to do or how to get across what she was thinking. She had accepted that most of the parents hadn't wanted to think about her or have any contact with her. She could understand that it hurt too much. So she moved on. She talked to Mr. Carlogh on the anniversary but that was usually it. She went to Mrs. Lucah's funeral and even visited Ms. Diaz in the hospital when she was sick before she died. But the rest actually caring enough about a girl who lived while their children died seemed strange.

How was she supposed to react? Did she say everything she had just thought out loud? Oh she hoped not.

"Hedwig."

Hedy blinked and looked at Ida. Did she space out?

"Mrs. Carlogh..."

"You can call me Ida, Hedwig."

"Ok." It felt wrong but she could try at least…

Ida looked at her for a long moment, worried. "How have you been?"

"...Good."

Ida frowned because she could tell that wasn't really true. "I heard Joseph passed away. I'm so sorry."

"He was sick for a while," Hedy said, that same flippant tone she put on when her father was mentioned these days.. "I'm okay."

"How's Jeremy?"

Hedy paused. Something snapped behind her eyes. "Why do you care?"

Ida blinked. "I don't understand."

"You thought he did it," Hedy said, her gaze a little sharp.

"No I...I didn't think…," Ida insisted. She shook her head. "No. I know he didn't do it, Hedwig.."

Hedy considered her words for a long moment. "I heard you ask my dad if Jeremy was ever violent. He asked you to leave."

"I was desperate, Hedwig," Ida said quietly, guiltily. "I said a lot of things I didn't mean. I didn't know you heard any of it."

"...I was mute. I wasn't deaf."

That conversation with Ruby's dad as the detective on the case had been one of the last times she was willing to talk to anyone for a long time.

"Desperation doesn't give you a free pass to hurt others," Ruby muttered. "It's a reason but it's not an excuse."

She knew that from personal experience. She'd spent a lot of time making up for her terrible behaviour those first two years after the accident-after her parents died.

"You should have apologised," Ruby's tone was harsh enough that Hedy shot a look at her and she reeled her aggression back under control. When had Ruby grown protective over Jeremy as well?

Ruby wondered if her dad had to deal with questions like that from them? Jeremy had mentioned that he had helped a lot with people falsely accusing him.

Several of them looked at Ruby, still disturbed. They weren't sure exactly how much the teenager knew about them. Or about their children.

"I should have apologized. I should," Ida said. "I'm so sorry Hedy...I really am."

"We are too," Mr. Jones said. "I don't know how much you're aware of but..." He trailed off at Hedy's expression as she opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it closed.

Mrs. Manilo shifted in her seat. "Hedwig, please say what's on your mind. We're here now. We're listening."

There were a few nods.

Hedy took a sharp breath. No! She couldn't tell them what was on her mind. Not now. Not ever. She couldn't tell them that it was her fault. She couldn't rip those wounds open. She had to keep it inside. She shoved the thoughts down before the building could react. She could feel its concern reaching out to her again. But there was something she had to say, even if the guilt made her feel awful about it. The younger her didn't deserve the alienation. Maybe she deserved it now that she was an adult who could take responsibility, but she had been so messed up as a little girl. "You left me. Almost every one of you moved away." She glanced at the Jones, knowing they hadn't. They were still living in the same house. She saw Chris outside ever so often. "As a little girl, I couldn't help thinking it was because you couldn't stand being around me. And I know that was probably the case for every one of you. And I know that isn't fair. I know that there were probably other reasons and it's selfish of me to think it was all because of me. I know there were probably job opportunities that came up. Or it hurt to see their bedrooms. But you never said anything to me. You never thought to tell me it wasn't my fault. So I agonized over whether you hated me for years."

The rational side of her was speaking, reminding her to drop those feelings of blame. The other side was screaming that she couldn't say those things. It was her fault! It was! They had every right to hate her! This wasn't even survivor's guilt. She had made a choice.

The parents didn't know of her swirling thoughts tearing her up inside. Her words felt like a punch in the gut.

They never thought about any of that, consciously.

"I don't want to make you feel guilty..."

"Hedwig. Shush," Ida said quietly. "You have a right to be upset." She came over to Hedy and hesitantly took her hands, feeling Hedy flinch. "Hedwig, look at me...I am so sorry. I was the worst, wasn't I? Please tell me you didn't hear anything else I said."

Hedy hesitated and Mrs. Carlogh's face fell.

Hedy glanced away. "I remember sneaking into your backyard and hiding in Ginny's playhouse. I overheard you two talking on the back porch once."

The Carlogh's looked worried, not sure what exactly was said.

"What did you hear, Hedwig?" Mr. Carlogh said while the rest of them listened in silent pain.

"...I heard you say it wasn't fair that I lived. That you wished I wasn't there." Tears trailed her cheeks as Hedy stared straight ahead, her voice quiet so she could keep it even.

Ida covered her mouth as tears fell and her husband's face paled. She let out a sob and gripped Hedy's hand.

Hedy cracked a strained nervous smile, some part of her mind desperately trying to make the situation lighter. "Th-that kinda messed me up for a while, Mrs. Carlogh..."

"You were a little girl," Ida said, angry at herself. "You shouldn't have gone through any of that and I made it so much worse..."

"We all did..." Mr. Manilo said.

"Jack, you were smart enough to keep your thoughts to yourself," Ida snapped but not too harshly.

"I know you were hurting," Hedy said. "I know you didn't mean it. It took me a while but I figured it out. All of it still hurts when I think about it, but it helped to hear a therapist tell me it was wrong of you to say those things where six-year-old me could hear." How could she be speaking so gently, as if she was still trying to make them feel better?

The scowl Ruby was sporting told her that she'd much rather prefer Hedy shout at them than try and comfort them. But she stayed quiet.

"Hedwig..." Ida sounded so pained.

It might have been easier for them if she just yelled at them.

"I forgave you a while ago," Hedy said calmly, as if she had any right to. "It still hurts. And... and I really wasn't expecting you to show up today. You...really didn't need to come. I guess...me being here does look strange."

"You were in the papers... and they mentioned Sergeant Stone," Mrs. Manilo murmured. "We were worried."

Ruby tensed up at the mention of her dad.

"Yes...Detective Stone was killed because he kept looking into the case when someone working for the company wanted him to stop. That was before I came here though. I... didn't even remember him. Jeremy found out. I'm just a footnote here. The reporters were just banking on the coincidence of me and Ruby both working here when it happened."

Their gazes flickered to Ruby who was still scowling at them.

"He kept investigating?" Mr. Manilo asked quietly.

"He never stopped," Hedy said. She sniffed a little. "I..I didn't know either until recently."

"Does Jeremy know? They were close weren't they?" Ida asked softly.

It sounded like they didn't read all the articles before coming here.

Hedy blinked for a moment. "Jeremy was the one who figured it out, after he learned what happened. He arrested the cop who was taking bribes. One of them anyway. The one responsible for what happened to Detective Stone."

"How did he take it?" her husband asked. "That can't have been easy."

"...He wanted to kill the man. But Jeremy's not like that," Hedy said, glancing at Ruby.

Ruby didn't meet her eyes, keeping her gaze fixed ahead. The group glanced between Ruby and Hedy again in confusion.

"The reporters were excited because of both of us working here. It looks really weird," Hedy explained. "This is Ruby. Detective Stone's daughter. I don't think you would have remembered her..."

Realisation flashed across their faces.

"Oh," Ida didn't look like she knew what to say.

"Reporters and investigative journalists have been very interested in getting us to explain why we work for a company that had a hand in causing us both so much pain," Hedy said. "It's a weird situation, but simply put, I came to help Scott and ended up staying for other reasons. Maybe closure. Ruby came here for her own reasons. We didn't know there was any sort of connection between her dad and my past. I didn't remember Detective Stone and Ruby didn't know about all her dad's old cases. All this happened because Jeremy's been hanging around here with both of us and made some connections no one else saw."

Ruby looked away, uncomfortable with the sympathy now in the adults' eyes. She still didn't like talking about this. Even with Hedy. Jeremy said she'd spoken to him briefly about it but not for long.

"It's a strange situation," Cheryl's mother, Lori, spoke up. "Thank you for explaining, Hedwig. We're sorry to hear this happened to you, Ruby. Detective Stone was a good man. I do hope you've heard that a lot. I'm sorry none of us had the chance to meet your mother."

Hedy glanced at Ruby apologetically. She hadn't really meant to drag Ruby into this. It didn't look like airing her pain had helped just yet, still looking skittish as if she was afraid the parents were going to snap at her and caring more about their feelings than her own. She needed time for the conversation to sink in. Fifteen years of pain would not evaporate even if she had taken steps to move on by herself. She needed time to process their claim that they actually were remorseful of the pain they had a hand in. And she had to sort the real guilt that was reading its ugly head.

Ruby just shrugged uncomfortably, not really responding to Lori and mostly looking at Hedy. The mechanic was a little surprised that she hadn't bolted yet. Her general reaction to anyone talking about her parents was to either snap back or flee.

The parents considered if it was depressing that they noticed that the teen was staying for Hedy's sake while Hedy seemed mildly oblivious to the fact. The teen was protecting Hedy from them.

It was a sobering thought.

And considering she'd only known Hedy after they'd unintentionally done their damage, it was no wonder she was so protective.

Ida looked so depressed, the sternness she had put up as a wall around herself gone. She shook it off. She didn't deserve to feel sorry for herself, not now.

Ruby shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like these situations. All...emotion-y. She didn't like these people. Wanted to run them out of the restaurant if she was honest.

But Hedy didn't want that. So she stubbornly stayed instead, giving them the evil eye when Hedy wasn't looking.

Hedy was starting to fidget. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. "I-I need to get back to work..." she lied. "I need a little time to think." She raised her head a bit, still struggling to look any of them in the eye. "I don't mind catching up... I-I just..."

Richard nodded in understanding. "We can come back after closing if that would be easier."

Hedy's eyes widened. "No!"

They looked a bit startled at the sharp word as Hedy's gaze flicked to the walls. She tried to recover and pull back, glancing at Ruby for help. She didn't want them around the ghosts. They had grieved already. She couldn't be responsible for opening those wounds again by them meeting their dead children. She didn't know if it was cruel to deny the kids that kind of meeting but there was so much that could go wrong.

Ruby's lips thinned, probably thinking the same thing.

"Sorry," she spoke up. "No visitors after-hours allowed. We're busy during the night shift. Teenagers breaking in for the laughs. Maintenance on all the bots. No visits during work hours."

If Hedy didn't know that was a straight-up lie, she would have believed Ruby. She said it so straight-faced despite Jeremy and Amelia's regular visits.

The lie seemed to appease most of them at least, although Cheryl's brother frowned at Ruby. But he just kept letting his parents talk. Chris hadn't said a single word the last few minutes.

"Can we convince you to meet with us somewhere?" his mother Lori asked. "Somewhere... not here?"

"We would really like to catch up with you," Mrs. Manilo tried.

Hedy hesitated. "I don't usually work during the day. I should be done in about an hour. I can meet you at the park. Or... I suppose you can stop by my house."

"...Are you sure?"

Hedy nodded.

"That's fine. If you're okay with that. Is Jeremy still in town by any chance?" Ida asked.

Hedy's timidness evaporated. "Why?"

They looked a little taken aback by her tone.

"I want to apologize to him," Ida said bluntly.

Hedy frowned, glancing at Ruby. "I understand you said things you didn't know hurt me and that was an accident because you were grieving. But you actively said awful things about my brother. You blamed him for making a mistake and that screwed him up. I don't want you near Jeremy."

Not all of them were guilty of that, but those that were, knew she was speaking to them.

"...I'll tell him you're here. But he doesn't need to see you. I have to get back to work. I'll see you later."

"Wait, Hedwig, where do you live?" Richard asked.

"Dad kept ownership of the old house when we moved away. It's mine now," Hedy said, still a little tersely.

Richard nodded but Ida looked uncomfortable. They used to be neighbors. She wasn't sure she could handle seeing that house again.

Hedy made her escape while they were still processing that information, leaving before they could say anything else.

Ruby quickly moved to stand by the table, grabbing their attention now. There was only suspicion and wariness in the teenager's eyes as she stared at them.

"You really screwed up. You were hurting and you lashed out. You wanted someone to blame. You wanted the world to be fair again. But your actions had consequences and your grief doesn't excuse hurting a little kid and her teenage brother. She's giving you a chance to fix that. Hedy's always been much nicer than I am but I'd be a hypocrite if I tried to deny you this chance. So I'll just say don't screw it up. A second chance is a gift, not a right."

She didn't wait for them to say anything, instead turning and stalking out of the room without another word and leaving them alone.